Best loyalty programs

There are dozens of loyalty reward programs out on the market, but deciding which one is best can be tricky. We have investigated the top five loyalty cards out there.

"There are so many loyalty programs in Australia and all of them can suit various lifestyles, so it's really important for consumers to choose a program that suits their lifestyle and purchasing programs," said Kaleidoscope marketing spokesman Guy Johnson.

"You really need to choose wisely because there are so many factors with each one, but you need to realise that it's a long term strategy."

Kaleidoscope Marketing chose the five overall best loyalty cards based on rewards, flexibility, transparency, and simplicity.

Number one: AMERICAN EXPRESS REWARDS CARD

"There are quite a few reasons why American Express came out in the number one stop, but one of them is they offer great flexibility," Mr Johnson said.

"They also have various programs to suit different lifestyles- from personal use to corporate- they tailor to your lifestyle.

You can also transfer your points to a variety of frequent flyer programs so you ultimately get the last call in which airline you want to travel with, it's the ultimate in flexibility.

But, with credit card loyalty programs it's important that you understand the annual fees because they are only valuable if you can pay your monthly balance off."

There are dozens of different frequent flyer programs out there, but for Australians, the best one was Velocity Rewards which belongs to Virgin.

"We've gone out there and looked at a lot of different programs and the reason Velocity made the list was that Virgin can leverage off their brand name with its different business units," Mr Johnson said.

"We also found their communication and approach is very consumer focused."

According to Virgin spokesman Phil Gunter, "you can use it on any seat for Virgin or any of our airline partners around the world."

It may seem relatively simple, but your generic coffee loyalty card made the list because of its simplicity and for the fact that you are literally getting something for nothing.

"It's so easy and simple and people are already loyal to their coffee shop and they're not going to go out of their way because they always get a coffee on their way to work so it's simple and easy," Mr Johnson said.

Check your local cafe because most will have a frequent coffee loyalty card.

Number four: WOOLWORTHS EVERDAY REWARDS

The supermarket chain has turned its entire rewards program upside down and is offering consumers a great new alternative to the traditional paper dockets.

"Instead of having the shopper dockets that consumers tear off, they've put their entire program on one card which you can use at the shops and at the petrol station," Mr Johnson said.

"Another great thing about the card is that you can link several different cards to the same account so if dad wants to claim savings at the petrol station, he doesn't need to have mum's card to do it."

"They've also given consumer s a higher opportunity to win prizes and great rewards."